Like it or not, Disney has become intertwined with the childhood fantasies of millions of little girls. Generations of women have grown up
surrounded by the grace, beauty and feminity of the Disney princesses.
And as anyone with a little girl knows, every girl love dresssing up as
a princess.
The problem was that, for FAR too many years, the princesses were only
white: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. Where the fuck were the
princesses of color? It's truly a black mark on Disney's reputation
that it took until 1992 for then to introduce a non-white heroine (a
Middle Eastern character named Jasmine in the film "Aladdin".) Later,
they introduced an Asian ("Mulan",) a Polynesian ("Lilo",) and a Native
American ("Pocahontas".)
Finally, Disney has announced a film with an African-American heroine. According to news reports,
the company has started production on an animated musical fairy tale
called “The Frog Princess,” which will be set in New Orleans and
feature Disney's first black princess. The film will be released in
2009.
Better late than never, Disney. Now how about getting started on something for all the Hispanic and Latino girls out there?
About MetroDad
I'm a French-named, speed-reading, former public policy analyst now trapped in the body of a Asian-American fashion executive. I've ridden elephants in Sri Lanka, imbibed snake venom in China, skiied the Italian Dolomites, eaten barbecue in Pakistan, travelled to every state except North Dakota, visited 28 out of 32 major league ballparks, worshipped at the altar of Graceland 5 times and have shut down most of the nightclubs in Paris. That being said, I still get lost every time I go through the Lincoln Tunnel.
It's safe to say that we'd probably get along if you can truly appreciate the real beauty in...a good Peking duck, Sunday's NYT crossword, nice manners, Scrabble, Law & Order, spontaneous travel, Otoro, Jim Jarmusch, Tabasco sauce, Morrissey, Haruki Murakami, Peets coffee, Radiohead, listening to baseball games on the radio, Thievery Corporation, X-Men comics, fresh powder, Southern BBQ, Christopher Hitchens, bloomin' onions, mid-century design, the warmth of a good scotch, a great day spent fishing where you didn't catch a damn thing...
On a related note, I'd like to believe that I probably have absolutely nothing in common with another human being who really loves any of the following: pro bass fishing on tv, NASCAR, low carb Cabernet, Kathey Griffin, Microsoft, the Olsens, Applebees, Jessica Simpson, romance novels, tofu bacon, Pamela Anderson, ballet, "Survivor" or HUMMERs. Similarly, I could also never be friends with someone who mixes up "they're", "there", and "their". I will give you a smidge of credit if you know the difference between "if" and "whether". But if you leave any participles dangling, we're breaking up.
In conclusion, let me just say...
Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.
(The Designater Hitter Rule has got to go)
